


Two Scholars of Wittenberg

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Hamlet - Shakespeare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 03:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8187314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: "Horatio, are you coming with us?  We're going drinking."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dazebras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dazebras/gifts).



“Horatio, are you coming with us?  We’re going drinking.”

“Hamlet, don’t you ever knock?  And no, as you can see, I’m writing an essay.”

“Can’t your essay wait?  There’s plenty of time yet.”

“There are three days, and I have lectures and other assignments as well.  It’s all right for you, you’ll wait till the night before it’s due and write until almost cock crow if necessary, but I’ve never been able to work like that.”

“But one essay won’t make any difference.”  Hamlet leant over the back of Horatio’s chair and tried to grab the quill from his hand, but Horatio was too quick for him.

“Maybe not to you.  You’re the Crown Prince of Denmark, you’re never going to have to compete with others for the best positions.  It’s different for me.”

“Well, you know I’ll always make sure you can have a role in the Danish court, don’t you?”

“Yes, and I appreciate it.”  Horatio smiled and Hamlet could see he was starting to relent.  “But what if I don’t want to go to Denmark?  I might prefer Norway, or even England.”

“Even you can’t want to go to England!”

“No, maybe not!  Look, leave me now and I’ll finish the first half of my essay and come and find you when I’ve done.  If you’re going with the usual crowd it won’t be hard to work out where you’ve gone; I’ll just need to stand in the middle of the street and listen for Rosencrantz’s ridiculous laugh.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Promise.”

Hamlet leaned forward towards Horatio and gave him a quick kiss, before departing, slamming the door as he went.

***

It was much later when Horatio finally made it to the street where he expected Hamlet and his other friends to be.  As he had thought, it was easy to find them.  Rosencrantz was already sitting propped up against the wall of the inn, looking decidedly the worse for wear.  As Horatio watched, two more of the group emerged through the door, dragging Guildenstern between them.  Horatio shrank back into the shadows of the building opposite, not wishing to become mixed up with the drunken students.

Finally he saw Hamlet slip out, barely noticed by the rest of his companions, who appeared to be debating where they should go next.  Horatio watched Guildenstern trip over the seated form of Rosencrantz and slide from his escorts’ arms.  The latter didn’t seem particularly bothered, leaving the two in an untidy heap.

Horatio felt a hand on his arm, and turned to smile at Hamlet.

“I did wonder if you were coming after all,” Hamlet said.

“I said I would.  I had to check a couple of things for my essay and carried on reading one of the books.  I didn’t notice the time passing,” Horatio replied.

“You never do.  Still, you’re here now.  Shall we walk?”

“Which direction?”

“Whichever way that lot don’t go.”

Horatio chuckled.  “You don’t seem to have drunk as much as them.”

“It’s easy enough not to in a large group.  So long as you pay for a jug of wine every so often no-one notices how much you pour into your own glass.  And I wanted to stay sober for you.”

“Thank you.”

The two young men linked arms and began to stroll along. 

Hamlet pointed up at the sky.  “It’s a beautiful night.  The stars look as if they were stretching out into eternity.  Just imagine if we could leap from constellation to constellation and follow them to wherever they go.”

Horatio raised his arms on either side of his body and began spinning round, saying as he did so, “Watch me, I’m heading into the firmament.”

Hamlet laughed, and continued to watch Horatio as he tripped over his own feet and landed with a thud on the ground. 

“I thought I was the one who’d been drinking,” he said, helping Horatio back onto his feet.

“I’m just drunk on the beauty of the heavens,” Horatio replied.

“Idiot!” Hamlet said, putting his arm around Horatio’s shoulders.

“I don’t need support,” Horatio added, but he put his own arm round Hamlet, and the two of them continued their walk through the old town.

Eventually they made it back to the college buildings and entered quietly, not wishing to draw any attention to themselves.  In the distance they could hear raised voices, one of which sounded like Guildenstern, and the angry responses of the college porter, who clearly did not appreciate being disturbed late at night by a group of drunken students.

“Your room or mine?” Hamlet asked.

“Mine’s closer, but yours will be quieter.”

“Mine then, that lot are making such a racket we should make it without being noticed.”

They made their way along the quiet corridors, occasionally pausing when they heard a voice from an open doorway, and drawing back into the shadows when they saw one of the masters heading purposefully down the corridor, presumably intending to deal with the ruckus by the main entrance.

They slipped into Hamlet’s room and Hamlet flung various articles of clothing from his bed and onto the floor.  Horatio looked around; the contrast with his own room was marked.  Whereas Horatio kept his few possessions meticulously tidy, only permitting his books and papers to spread out across the room, Hamlet left things where they fell, and the floor was covered with a jumble of clothes, books and various other items.

As Horatio turned back he saw Hamlet had already begun to undress.  He watched appreciatively and then blushed as Hamlet, dressed only in his undershirt, looked Horatio up and down and gestured with his head to ask why he was still fully dressed.  Horatio continued to stand in the middle of the floor, so Hamlet came over and began to undress him.  Horatio didn’t resist, but didn’t try to assist either, preferring to enjoy the feel of Hamlet’s hands on his body.

Finally, once Horatio, too was wearing only his undershirt, Hamlet took him by the hand and led him to the side of the bed.  There Hamlet pulled Horatio’s undershirt off, stripped off his own and tossed it onto the floor, and pushed the still unresisting Horatio onto the bed.


End file.
